Going For The Gold
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: AU: Ever since she was a young child, Alex has had one goal in mind. Now that she has made it to what is considered the grandest stage of them all, she is dead set on achieving her goal and accomplishing her dream. But what happens when fate has other ideas in mind and she finds her self deviating down an entirely different path no amount of training could have prepared her for?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so a small few of you may have realized that I posted this yesterday but it somehow got deleted from my profile along with a few other unfinished projects. The reason is that…well…over the past month or so I've done a lot of stuff that I am not proud of in the slightest. I've deeply hurt the most important person in my life who has always been there for me when times were rough and what I did to her, she didn't deserve. My stories disappearing was her way of getting back at me at the time I suppose and so that's why a few of them have gone missing, as well as this one that was recently posted. I deserved what happened if not more and Ali, if there is a small chance that you're out there reading this, I want you to know that I'm sorry. **

**I know you guys don't really care about my personal business or anything and I shouldn't be doing this, but I just had to get it out there for personal reasons. That and I had to vent a little. I hope you all don't mind. **

**Also, to those of you who did get a chance to read this before hand, you may notice that I changed the location from Sochi to Vancouver to take away from the whole controversial thing with Russia. I think a things were a little more lax in Canada so we'll take it from there. **

**So, here's my second shot at posting this because I need to escape from my other stories right now. **

**Enjoy guys. **

**Disclaimer: Any unoriginal character in this story does not belong to me. **

Alex Cabot frowns in anticipation as she gets deeper and deeper into one of the many heightened points of her novel. She involuntarily begins nibbling on her bottom lip as her eyes skim over the words as she takes in word after word, sentence after sentence, and paragraph after paragraph. Strategically, the chapter ended with a cliffhanger that only lead to the other half of the page filled with white space.

She gently grasps the corner of the next page between her thumb and forefinger, and just as she is about to turn the page, there is a sudden heavy white exerted on her bed which causes her to tumble off of the mattress, over the edge, and onto the floor. A small growl escapes her lips when she hears a rather familiar giggling up on her bed and it alerts her to the identity of her oh so rude intruder.

Standing up, the tall blonde places her hands on her hips and glares hard at her best friend who is comfortably stretched across the length of her bed. "Do you have any boundaries for other people's personal space?" she practically screeches as she bends over to retrieve her fallen novel, only to sigh heavily when she realizes that she's lost her page.

Serena Southerlyn grins widely at her best friend, the innocence not lost in neither or smile nor her sparkling sea blue eyes. "But Ali, what kind of fun am I going to have while we're here if I can't even get close to my bestest friend in the whole wide world?" she says innocently with yet another childlike grin that she knows cannot be resisted.

"First of all, 'bestest' is not a word Serena. Secondly, just because you are my best friend and we are totally excited about being here, does not mean that you can just barge into my room whenever you want to and jump on my bed like it's a bounce house," Alex instructs sternly as she places her hands on her hips once again.

"Pfft, that's exactly what it means Alex. We've known each other since before we could even walk which means that we are more like sisters than friends. And what does that mean? That means I get to annoy the living hell out of you and you don't have a single fighting argument against it." Serena concludes before she sticks out her tongue, giggling once again when she receives an eye roll as her response. "Oh lighten up Alex, we're in Vancouver! Haven't you always planned to go to Vancouver? Plus, I hear the women are extremely hot."

Alex can't help but roll her eyes again as she makes her way over to the window of her designated apartment for the next seventeen days. She looks out over the span of land amongst the Olympic Village and takes note of the various athletes out chatting, mingling, and doing anything else normal people would do on their downtime. Even after what seemed like an exceptionally long flight to Vancouver; Alex still can't believe that she's actually made it this far. She still feels like everything happening to her right now is nothing more than a dream that she is going to wake up from any moment. All her life she has wanted nothing more than to be an Olympic gold medalist; and now she has her shot.

Serena notices how quiet the room has grown and she stands up to join her best friend at the window as she too looks down at the expanse of mingling athletes. "It is pretty surreal, isn't it?" she says quietly as her fingers gently trace the cool metal edge of the window pain. "Who would've thought that we would actually have the chance to call ourselves Olympians in this life time? It's almost unbelievable."

"It is unbelievable." Alex replies with a small chuckle escaping her lips. "I'm still having trouble believing that we are actually here. Two small town girls with the same dream finally making it to where they wanna go; it sounds too much like a movie, doesn't it?"

"A little bit." Serena agrees with a light chuckle of her own before she tugs on her best friend's sweater. "C'mon, let's go outside and mingle. You know how I am about meeting new people."

"Oh don't I know." Alex grumbles as she sets down her book and shrugs on her 'Team USA' coat. "Sometimes I feel like you are too friendly. Is that a thing? Being too friendly? Well if it is a thing, you my dear are entirely too friendly. Just try not to get us in trouble here, yeah?"

Serena pauses with a grin on her face as she shrugs on her own coat. "When you say try not to get us in trouble, you mean that I shouldn't test out my foreign languages here?"

Alex pauses for a moment before she nods her head in confirmation. "Yes, that is exactly what I mean," she agrees as she heads for the door. "We don't need to end up in some frozen lake because you thought you could charm some foreign hottie into your bed."

"Hey, my French is improving!" Serena protests as she follows the taller woman out the door.

Upon stepping outside, Alex can't help but shiver at the sudden onslaught of cold. Sure she's used to cold, she's from the North, but United States cold and Canada cold are two totally different types of cold and Alex has found that out rather quickly.

The twenty-three year old figure skaters wander around, briefly chatting with other athletes about their sport. They've learned a little bit about curling, not that either of them were listening, but they are both sure that they were only roped into such a conversation because the men wanted to hit on them, check them out, or both.

"I just don't understand…" Serena says throwing up her hands as they are about to enter the building with the café. "It's basically just sweeping ice so the little disk thing will move! It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Well, I'm sure that figure skating makes about as much sense to them as curling does to us." Alex responds rationally as she shrugs her shoulders.

As they are about to enter the café, Alex finds her self roughly colliding with Serena who has stopped abruptly. She feels a hand harshly hit her shoulder before she feels fingers harshly curl into her flesh.

"Christ Serena, what's your problem?" She hisses, prying the petrified woman's fingers away from her shoulder before she leaves any kind of serious indention. She can't help but quirks her eyes in complete confusion as she notices her best friend's eyes have gotten as big as the morning sun. "What are you staring at?"

"Look," Serena whispers quietly as she swiftly moves behind the taller woman, slightly peering over her shoulder where she begins discretely point her finger towards a young woman sitting alone at a table with a book and some earphones. "Look, over there."

Alex follows Serena's finger and her eyes land on the woman in question. Her eyes widen as well as her mouth forms into a tiny 'o' shape before she turns back towards her best friend who is now wearing a similar expression. "Do you know who that is, Serena?"

Serena scoffs at the rather offended question and for once, she is the one to roll her eyes at Alex. "Of course I know who that is Alex! My coach would take my skates away if I had no idea who that was." she hisses before she goes back to peering over Alex's shoulder, like a ranger observing a rare animal in its natural habitat. "That's Kim Greylek, Alex. Oh man, I never thought I would be able to say that I've been at least fifty yards away from the number one figure skater in the world!"

"Two time world champion and Olympic gold medalist." Alex whispers quietly before continuing on. "And she only just turned twenty."

"I've never been in the presence of so much greatness." Serena ogles before piping up. "Let's go say hi!"

"Hi!?" Alex hisses as she grabs onto Serena's sleeve to keep her from going any further. "We can't just go up to her and say hi!"

A small frown creases across Serena's features before she tilts her head in confusion. "What do you mean we can't?" she questions curiously. "It's not everyday that you get to meet your figure skating idol in person, let alone compete with them at the Olympics! We're all a team here, Alex."

Alex shakes her head in the negative before she shrugs. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant that, we can't just…barge over there like a bunch of fan girls. It'd be inappropriate." She rationalizes with a shrug before she frowns. "She's your idol? Serena, you're like three years older than she is!"

"Does it matter? Hello! Figure skating world champion, right over there. First time Olympian, right here. I'm not gonna pass this up; whether I make a fool of my self or not."

Alex shakes her head and sighs in a defeated manner when she realizes that she's lost this battle. "Just try not to make a fool of me too," she murmurs as she follows, but lingers behind a little for the sake of her humility.

"See, I got this, I'll play it cool." Serena whispers to Alex before she takes a seat across from her idol in question. She manages a sincere smile when she sees that she's gained the brunette's attention. "Hi."

"Hello…" Kim responds slowly and carefully as she takes her headphones out of her ears.

"My friend and I saw you sitting over here all alone and we were wondering what's gotten you to be so 'anti-social' for lack of a better term." Serena jokes before she tilts her head, feigning innocence. "What sport do you play?"

A tiny smirk tugs at Kim's lips as though she is resisting a tiny laugh of amusement. "You don't have to play up to me. I saw you and your friend there staring at me from over there a few minutes ago. You know exactly who I am." She pauses before making eye contact with both of the older women. "As do I, know exactly who the both of you are, that is. I saw both of your Olympic qualifying routines, and I have to say that I am very impressed."

"Thanks," both blondes chime simultaneously, though while Alex's comes as a normal response to a compliment, Serena's comes out as more of an excited squeak. Unfortunately, it's something that doesn't go unnoticed by the world champion, who finally let's the tiniest laugh escape her lips, much to Serena's embarrassment.

"Anyway, I've got to be going. I'll see you two around I'm sure. It was nice meeting you." the younger woman says sincerely as she gets up and leaves the table with a pleasant goodbye.

"You too!" Serena calls out excitedly, before she turns to Alex and squeals once again. "Now I can die a happy woman."

"You are so melodramatic." Alex retorts with what is probably her hundredth eye roll that day. As she turns around to walk the other direction, she finds her self colliding heavily with another person which in turn causes them to spill their drink all over her. "What the hell, seriously?!"

"Oh my god, I am so sorry," the redhead responds quickly as she picks the fallen cup up from the ground.

Alex glowers at the woman before she looks down at her stained wardrobe. "Well you should be sorry," she says spitefully crossing her arms. "You need to watch where you're going."

The redhead's eyes narrow into thin slits before her posture turns into one of defense. "Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't fix the fact that I am now covered in your soda!"

"Well maybe if _you_ would watch where _you're_ going we wouldn't have had this issue!"

"It's not worth all of this," A tall brunette with a rather clear Southern accent steps in as she places her hand on the redhead's shoulder, trying to draw her away from the confrontation. "C'mon, it was an accident."

Green eyes stare harshly into blue for another moment before the redhead spins on her heel and storms out of the café, leaving the remaining three women in silence.

The raven haired woman is the first to break the silence with an awkward clearing of her throat. "Sorry about her…It won't happen again." she apologizes before taking off after her friend.

"Wonder who that was…" Serena inquires curiously as she begins wiping her best friend's jacket with a napkin all the while listening to Alex mutter to her self.

"I have no idea, but I hope that I never run into her again."

**I'll try to have another chapter up. Please leave your thoughts, even if you did so the first time :) …**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wanna thank all of you guys who have shown your concerns for my situation. That really means a whole lot to me :)**

**Okay, so some of you were like 'OMG Abbie and Casey figure skaters?' my answer to that is NO DEFINITELY NOT. I cannot imagine that AT ALL. I do have to say what I did is not exactly hockey either but I think what I DID do is still pretty cool. It also helps set the dynamic contrasts between the love interests ;)**

**I think that's about all I needed to address so here's the second chapter, enjoy! **

"Wow, so you totally didn't make a complete idiot out of your self just then." Abbie Carmichael sneers sarcastically as she is unable to hold in her laughter any longer at her best friend who is so red in the face it looks like she's been left out in the sun for ten hours. "Oh man, you are such a klutz. That's probably one of your most embarrassing moments in your life! I just wish that I had been able to get it on video! Oh man, that was great."

Casey Novak folds her arms tightly and narrows her eyes into thin dangerous slits as she watches her best friend have a good hearty laugh at her own expense. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'm sure that you wouldn't be laughing so much if it had happened to you!" she tries to defend, which only comes out as a pathetic squeak which causes the lanky brunette to laugh even harder. "What good are you if you're just gonna stand there and laugh at me all the time?"

Abbie stops laughing and stands up straighter, a fine smirk spreading across her lips, showing off the not-so-innocent dimples in her cheeks. "What kind of a best friend would I be if I didn't make fun of you ever time you do something completely stupid?" she drawls before bursting into yet another round of chuckles, recalling the events of not even five minutes prior. "I still can't believe you did that."

"It was an accident Abbie! Jesus…"

"Yeah, it was an accident that happened because you though she was so hot you couldn't help but stare at her. And you didn't realize you were staring until it was too late and you drenched her with your coke. Oh dude, she was so pissed!"

Casey can't help but blush again as she folds her arms tightly across her chest resembling the look of a pouting child. She holds the look for as long as she can before she groans and drops her chin to her chest. "I knooooow." She whines, squeezing her eyes shut as the incident moments ago comes rushing back to her. "I didn't mean to run into her and I definitely didn't mean to yell at her. It's just…did you see her Abbie? She was gorgeous!"

Abbie can't help but chuckle at the redhead's attempt to defend her self. "I gotta admit, she was pretty hot. So was her friend. But Case? You can't exactly pick up women by spilling your soda on them. It doesn't exactly work like that."

"You're an ass," Casey retorts, giving her friend a shove for her added sarcasm. "What time does practice start?"

"In about an hour, but I know some people are already heading out now to get a head start. Plus, I wanna see what this course looks like in person before I actually get on it. The last thing that I need is for my ass to wipe out and end up as a real life snowman. I'm from the South. You know I don't do well covered in snow." Abbie concludes with an over exaggerated shiver to add to her point.

Casey chuckles as she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "You're doing the wrong sport then if you don't like this snow. Plus, you haven't been to Texas in years Abbs. I highly doubt that means you're still quote unquote 'from the South'."

"Once a Texan always a Texan." Abbie announces proudly before giving the redhead a playful shove. "Now go get your shit together so we can go show the Slopestyle who's boss."

Roughly an hour and a half later, Casey finds her self standing in wait at the start of the course for her practice run. She takes in a calming deep breath as her eyes travel down the rather steep slope at the start of the course. It's not the slope that scares her in the slightest because she's definitely done steeper, but it's the fact that her head my be in the clouds that has her a little unnerved.

"You ready, Novak?" her coach asks making sure that she is in fact ready.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She responds with a slightly nervous chuckle, relaxing when she feels her coach give her an encouraging pat on her shoulder before he continues on.

"I know it's just a practice run, but treat it like it's the real thing, but at the same time, don't put too much into it and end up hurting your self. Your time to impress the judges isn't till later. Right now, just try to get familiar with the course. Stay away from anything too risky."

"Noted." Casey confirms as she moves her goggles down over her eyes. She tightens the straps of her gloves and double checks her board bindings before she positions her self towards the edge of the slope.

Taking another calming deep breath, the redhead pushes off down the slope, getting into a familiar crouched position to gain more speed. The air whizzing past her creates a rushing sound in her ears as the cold air practically smacks her in the face on the way down. Coming to the first ramp, she easily secures the jump as she adds a 360 degree corkscrew twist for added style. Sure her trainer did say not to over do it on the practice, but showing off for onlookers can't hurt a tiny bit right?

Surprisingly, Casey completes her practice run a lot faster than excepted and she finds her self meeting her best friend at the bottom. She slides to a stop, snickering when the snow from her stop sprays all over the brunette in question. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Yeah right," Abbie snorts, dusting the snow out of her face.

"How was it? Be honest."

"It was a really great run Case, honest. You did get a little wobbly on the dismounts from the rails though. Once I thought you were gonna bail for a minute there."

"Yeah well, bailing doesn't get you gold medals." Casey grumbles, moving her goggles to the top of her head. "But it was the practice run so it wasn't like I was giving it a hundred percent. Coach told me 'not to over exert' my self or whatever. The corkscrew was kinda to show off though."

"If you wanna show off, you gotta do more than just a cute little corkscrew." A new voice chimes in to the duo's conversation. The two would recognize the arrogance filled voice anywhere and both can agree that it's one they definitely get tired of hearing.

"What do you want Benson…" Abbie asks flatly but not after rolling her eyes at their rival's sudden appearance.

Olivia Benson's arrogant smirk doesn't waver as she takes in the look her American competitors are giving her. "What ever happen to this being a friendly competition? I can't just come say hi?" she retorts snidely before glancing at Casey. "Nice run up there _Slow-vak_."

Casey's hands clench into tight fists at the ridiculing nickname in reference to the Winter X Games a year prior during the finals of the cross competition where Casey had come in one tenth of a second behind the Canadian boarder earning her second place. It's a moment that she has never been able to live down and now apparently she has the nickname to prove it.

"Cat got your tongue?" Olivia chuckles when she receives nothing but a silent glare in response. "Hope you two came ready. Better pick up the pace if you wanna be able to keep up with me."

It takes every thing in Casey not to bend over and bundle up a huge ball of snow and hurl it at the head of the retreating brunette. She lets out a frustrated grunt as she turns to Abbie who is rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"She should have 'asshole' plastered across the back of her jacket." Abbie grumbles shaking her head in disgust for their rival once again.

"I hope she runs into a snow bank," Casey deadpans as she bends over and unclips her boots from their board bindings. "And that's just one of the mild things…"

* * *

Alex glides across the ice with graceful precision just like she has practiced so many times before. She shifts her wait as she gains speed and momentum for a jump. As she executes the jump perfectly, her foot repositioning is off which causes her feet to twist, sending her tumbling down onto the ice. For the longest of moments, it doesn't register to her that she has just fallen on probably one of the easiest jumps a figure skater can learn. There are beginners who can do this jump with their eyes shut and here she is at the Olympics falling on her ass. Granted, she's only practicing, but in her mind, that still isn't any kind of excuse.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kim asks curiously as she seems to appear out of nowhere. "That was quite the fall you took there."

"I'm fine," Alex mutters, mentally sighing when she realizes she just busted her ass on a simple move, in front of the greatest figure skater in the world no less. "I'm fine…"

Kim tilts her head in innocent concern as she contemplates helping the blonde up or not. "Do you need help? If your feet were properly repositioned on the landing you wouldn't have fallen like that." she states innocent, her piece of advice not intended to bee cocky or arrogant and she hopes that the taller woman doesn't take it that way. "I can demonstrate if you'd like."

Alex feels a small blush rise to her cheeks as she begins to pick her self up off the ice. "I know how to do the jump." She snaps, giving the younger woman a small glare. "It's a jump beginners learn how to do when they first learn to skate. Although, I'm sure that some of us were doing summersaults when we were first put on a pair of skates…"

"I wasn't offering you help in an attempt to flaunt my status around. We're all on the same team here Alex, and as cheesy as this may sound there isn't really an 'I' or a 'U' in 'Team'. I was just trying to help."

"And would it be presumed rude if I said that I don't need your help?"

Kim snaps her mouth shut as her arms fall limply at her sides. "I suppose not," she responds with a shrug. "Well if you do I'm always willing to."

As the younger woman skates off back to her side of the ice rink, Alex shakes her head and begins to take her routine from the top. Just as she is about to do the same simple jump once again, she is interrupted by her best friend running in, calling her name from the sidelines.

"What Serena…" Alex snaps, immediately wincing at tone of voice when she realizes that the shorter blonde isn't the one responsible for her lack of focus. "I'm sorry. I'm out of focus right now. What's up?"

"I was gonna say let's go check out some of the other events, but if you're too busy…" Serena responds tightly, folding her arms at being shouted at a few moments ago. She sees the apologetic look on Alex's face and she immediately shakes away her anger. "C'mon Al, it'll be fun. I know the Qualification round for Ladies Slopestyle in snowboarding is about to start. Let's go watch it!"

Alex quirks an eyebrow as she slips the blade covers over her skates after skating over off of the ice and onto the floor. "Serena, you and I don't know a damned thing about snowboarding."

"I know, but we can learn! It's something exciting a different. Plus it'll help get your mind off of you busting your ass on that easy jump back there a few minutes ago."

"…Never speak of it."

**Okay, so I made Liv Canadian in this story because I feel like I can't write an Olympic story where rivals are both on Team USA. You can't hate each other and still fight for the same country in my book. It doesn't work like that lol. **

**Also, in this, I gave Kim such a high status because I always feel so bad leaving her with out a love interest yet again so this time I decided to give her something she could be extra proud of. **

**Leave your thoughts? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews and follows. I'm still trying to fix things with my sister so sorry if this isn't one of my best pieces of writing. Hope you enjoy anyway. **

"Why are we even out here watching this…" Alex question with a shake of her head as she watches a Czech snowboarder complete the qualification run. "I don't even understand half of what's going on."

"Oh just think of it like skating Al," Serena chirps with maximum excitement. "They do jumps and spins and twists and turns just like we do. Except they do it on a board instead of skates. It's practically the same thing except the terrain and equipment is different."

"Right…" Alex mutters as she shoves her hands deep into the pockets of her jackets, shivering against the harsh cold winds of the slope. She's going to be completely honest with her self and say that it is rather interesting to watch the boarders do their thing up on the course. She can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like so sore through that height in the air at amazing speeds doing flips, twists, and turns with dangers of injury lurking around every corner. It must require a set of balance and skill that not even she posses to complete such a task. Not to mention the fact that she is deathly terrified of heights.

So far they have seen a total of two boarders quote unquote 'wipe out' on the slopes, thankfully neither of them representing the US. One of the two competitors from America has already completed her run, with a score that has earned her the second ranked spot directly below one of the Canadians by a small margin of half a point.

Currently, Alex can't help but watch in amazement at the last American and final competitor for the qualifying round as she begins her run on the Slopestyle course. She watches in amazement as the woman moves with skilled precision through the obstacles, hitting every slope, twist, and turn that dares to stand in her way.

"Wow," Alex whispers quietly, barely hearing her self as her gaze remains on the snowboarder in question. For a split second, it seems as if they are the only two people on the planet. She watches in awe as the woman launches off of the last major snow kicker, launching into a huge 720 degree spin before landing perfectly onto the slope below. "Wow…"

Serena quirks her eyebrows in confusion and gives her best friend a nudge in the ribs to draw her out of her stupor. "Lex?" she asks, tilting her head when she doesn't receive an immediate response so she settles on nudging once again. "Alex…Alexandra? Whoohoo, hello. Anybody home?"

Alex blinks rapidly drawing her self back to reality. "What? Oh, I'm sorry…I must've…" she trails off before she realizes she's supposed to clap just like everyone else. "Wow that was amazing…"

* * *

"Look at you!" Abbie practically squeals as she rushes over to her best friend, picks her up and spins her around a good two or three times. "My god woman, I can't believe you did all that just to qualify!"

Casey shrugs nonchalantly as she removes her gloves and moves her goggles to the top of her helmet. "Hey, it wasn't that great. Did you see how wobbly I got on the rails up there? It was insane! Plus the whole arm flailing thing on the 540! Jesus Abbie…"

Abbie rolls her eyes before she narrows them and forcefully turns Casey's head towards the scoreboard. "Weirdo, you're in first!" she exclaims, pointing to the board. You needed a 93.50 to qualify and you got a 95.50. That's a full two points a head of what Olivia got! You knocked her out of first spot!"

"Do you know what that means Abbs?" Casey asks with her eyes still wide in shock before she practically jumps into her best friend's arms. "We're in the top four! We made it to the finals!"

"Oh man, you know Benson is piiiiiiiiissed!" Abbie chuckles giving the redhead another squeeze before she notices how quiet she has suddenly fallen. "Hey Case, what's going on? Why kill the excitement?"

Casey freezes as she locks gazes with a familiar set of blue eyes that she had seen earlier that day. It's the same blonde that she had run into at the café earlier, there's no doubt about that, but what could she possibly be doing here? Unfortunately she doesn't break her gaze fast enough and her best friend catches her staring.

"Isn't that the same chick from the café?" Abbie asks with a smug look on her face as she turns around and fully recognizes the two blondes from earlier. A confident smile forms across her lips as she raises her hand, specifically winking and waving the shorter of the two. "And it looks like she brought her friend too. Why don't you go over there and say hi, Casey? I'm sure that she didn't get enough of you and your soda the first time."

"Shut up," Casey grumbles as she gives the lanky brunette a shove before she picks up her board. "C'mon. Let's get out of here before Benson decides to show up and run her mouth. The last thing that I need to hear is her 'I'm queen of the Slopestyle' speech that she probably has rehearsed in her head."

* * *

"You were staring." Serena teases playfully as she pokes Alex in the side once they get back to the village.

Alex rolls her eyes and pulls the collar of her coat up further around her cheeks in a sad attempt to hide the feint blush that's slowly starting to appear. "I was not staring Serena. I was just trying to make sure that was the same chick that spilled her soda on my earlier, and it totally was."

Serena is silent for a moment before she snorts and bursts into hysteric laughter. "Yeah, and I'm having tea with Kristi Yamaguchi when we get back. You were totally staring." She snickers before she stands up and sighs dreamily. "Did you see her super sexy friend though? The one with the accent? She winked at me, did you see? Man, I don't know her name but she was super hot. Now she can spill anything she wants on me anytime she feels like it."

"Serena," Alex says with a disapproving shake of her head. Just as they are making their way further into the village, they see said dynamic duo of the Slopestyle having an animated conversation just in front of the gym. "Oh no."

"There they are! Let's go say hi!" Serena squeals, practically dragging the taller woman over to the chatting pair.

Alex rolls her eyes and tries to resist literally being dragged across the grass. Honestly, if she had a dollar for every time Serena said something like 'let's go say hi' she is sure that she would be an exceptionally wealthy woman.

Meanwhile, Abbie catches movement out of the corner of her eye and elbows Casey in the ribs, probably a little too hard. "Whoa, dude, hot blondes, four o'clock." She whispers excitedly before she straightens up and clears her throat, probably in preparation to spout some sort of pickup line.

"Hey," Serena greets cheerfully as she saunters up to the tall brunette, wearing a rather seductive smile on her face. "My friend and I saw you two compete on the slopes earlier today. I've gotta say the two of you were extremely impressive. I'm Serena by the way."

"Well Miss Serena, I've gotta say that it is very nice to meet you." Abbie purrs as she accepts Serena's outstretched and brings it to her lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back. Her grin only widens when the blonde giggles in response. "I'm Abigail, but you can call me Abbie if you'd like."

Alex can't help but roll her eyes at her best friend's flirting. Everywhere they go Serena is trying to flirt with somebody and only now does it seem that she's turned it about ten notches. She can't help but flush and duck her head when she sees the red haired woman staring at her intently.

Casey realizes that she's staring again and she awkwardly clears her throat. "I-I um…I'm sorry, again, about what happened earlier with the soda and everything." She apologizes awkwardly before extended her hand. "I'm, uh, I'm Casey."

"Alex," Alex replies, hesitating for a moment before she accepts the handshake. "Congratulations on making finals in your…snowboard thing."

"Thanks…" Casey murmurs, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck as she feels like she has completely run out of things to say. "What sport do you play?"

"I skate…"

"Oh, cool. Speed?"

"Figure…"

"Oh…" Casey rails off before the imagination of the blonde in a short sparkly dress skating gracefully across the ice fills her brain. She immediately blushes at the thought and ducks her head a little more. "I uh, I snowboard. But you saw that earlier. When do you do your…skating thing? Maybe I could watch?"

A small frown creases across Alex's brow before she tilts her head to the side in wonder. "You're interested in figure skating?" she questions curiously, not really pegging the redhead for the type to enjoy watching ice skating.

Casey shrugs after a moment before she nervously chews her bottom lip, having completely run out of things to say. "Uh….maybe you could explain it to me then? I could explain snowboarding to you sometime? If you're interested…I mean. You don't have to. I didn't mean to assume anything I just thought…"

"No it's fine…maybe we could…some time." Alex responds just as awkwardly before she shoves her hands into her pockets. As she glances around, she sighs and shakes her head when she realizes that Serena has disappeared with Abbie. "It seems that our friends have ditched us…"

"Yeah…" Casey agrees with a shrug. "I can walk you back to your room if you want. So you don't have to go by yourself."

"Thanks, but I think I can manage." Alex responds semi-confidently before she offers the red haired boarder a small smile. "But I'll see you around…Casey, right?"

Casey smiles at the blonde actually remembering her name on the first go. "Yeah, yeah, definitely. Bye…Alex." She trails off with a wave, her smile widening as she watches the blonde walk off before she whispers the name again, loving how it sounds on her lips. "Alex…Wow. She's beautiful."

Alex feels a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as she begins to make her way back to her room. There's something about Casey that she hadn't seen the first time they encountered one another, but then again, this time she wasn't angry at being covered in a sticky sugar concocted mess. Maybe talking to the redhead won't be so bad after all.

Just as she is about to make her way in the building to head up to her room, she hears a woman's voice yelling from somewhere on the side of the building. Her ears perk up in interest as she pauses and listens in for more.

"You cannot achieve greatness slacking off like you are. You have NOT gotten where you are today by lazing around and getting comfortable within your surroundings. You are the youngest ever to when the world title and hold it for two straight years and you are the youngest to win two Olympic gold medals at the age of sixteen. You still have an entire career ahead of you and slacking off does _not_ get you world titles and Olympic gold, do you understand me? So what's going to happen is we are going to go back in there, and you are going to practice your routine until I say that it is perfect enough for you to leave, do you understand?"

"Yes…I understand."

"Good. Now go."

Alex plasters her self against the wall to keep from being seen, but she pokes her head out just in time to see Kim walking past with her skates slung over her right shoulder and a duffle bag in her left hand. Soon, she is followed by a tall, thin raven haired woman with a hard face as they make their way back towards the ice rink.

_ 'Wonder what that was about…' _

**Leave your thoughts? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: My sister told me that she hates me you guys. At this point…I just don't even know what I can do. **

**Anyway, for the sake of this story, I've separated the Ladies singles events in figure skating to add more depth. It's fanfiction so I can do what I want, including alter the Olympics, heheh. Also, I don't know a DAMN thing about figure skating except what I've looked up on the internet so don't hold me to that. **

**Enjoy. **

"I feel like we stick out like a sore thumb." Casey mutters quietly, expecting a response from her best friend only to be halfway surprised when she received nothing but silence. "Abbie? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah definitely," Abbie responds absentmindedly as she continues to gaze longingly at all of the figure skaters making their practice rounds around the ice rink. "Look at all of that Case. Damn. Kinda makes me wish that I was a figure skater instead. Or a judge. You know I could definitely judge figure skating."

Casey can't help but roll her eyes as she continues to watch the dark haired woman gaze following all of the women down on the ice. "You are such a pervert, you know that? You'd be the worst figure skating judge in history. If it were up to you, they wouldn't be scored on their skating, they'd be scored on whether you thought they had a nice ass or not."

Abbie scoffs as if to appear offended before she turns up her nose in a faux snooty manner. "I'll have you know that I would not just judge them on that. I would also pay key attention to their posture, facial expression and most important leg position. You know I'm _alllll_ about the legs." She purrs with a well placed wink. "I would be adding a new kind of variety to the judges panel."

"You'd be banned from any and all figure skating competitions." Casey states with a small chuckle and a shake of her head. "Where'd you disappear off to yesterday with…well I can't exactly remember her name, but you know who I'm talking about. Where'd you two disappear off to?"

"Don't worry about it." Abbie responds with a smug grin that practically splits her features. "She's very nice you know. I wouldn't mind getting to know her just a little bit better."

"And how well did you get to know her last night…?"

"Oh, let's say that I pinch hit to second base."

A look of brief disgust passes over Casey's face but as soon as it's there, it's gone. She will never be one to understand how Abbie can meet an attractive woman one minute and be necking with her like a horny teenager not even five minutes later. Casey has known Abbie long enough that she even refers to her as the 'Cowgirl Casanova' on more than one occasion. More often than not she has been in the presence of her best friend when she has used her quote unquote 'Southern charm' on a woman to get her to swoon. Sometimes it's a trait that she wishes she her self possessed, but at the same time, she can't bring her self just to go hot and heavy with a woman that she's just met.

The last time Casey can recall ever being in a relationship with someone was probably a year and a half ago where she dated a girl named Laura. They had met through another mutual friend and the two had seemed to hit it off instantly. The relationship was good for probably a good four months before Laura started getting impatient because Casey wished that they take things slow in their relationship. She didn't just want their relationship to be all about hot sex and she wanted to take time for them to grow together in which Laura disagreed.

After a rather seemingly never ending, long argument the couple decided that it was best that they end it with Laura openly accusing Casey of being quote unquote 'more in love with that damn board than anything else'. After the break up, Casey poured all of her heart and time back into snowboarding now that she had little to no distractions.

"I just don't get how you can do that." Casey says quietly as she shakes her head, still wondering the same question only quietly and in her head.

"Do what? Hook up with women so easily? It's not like I'm playing her Case. Just because things moved a little fast doesn't mean I can't be sincere about it." Abbie responds with a nonchalant shrug. "It's practically the same thing out of order right? Make out, get to know each other while making out, hang out, make out some more, have sex. It's all the same thing."

Casey sighs heavily as she drags a hand through her hair that falls around her shoulders underneath her USA beanie. "I guess…" she mutters quietly before her eyes land on a certain blonde out on the ice.

Though it might sound a little more than cliché, her heart actually skips a beat as she watches the skater move with precise ease across the ice as if she were skating on some sort of cloud. The rhinestone covered blue dress hugs all of her curves in all the right places and Casey's breathing hitches in her throat when she does a spin and the dress flares out, showing off the matching briefs underneath.

Abbie quirks an eyebrow as she swears that she hears Casey whisper something along the lines of 'wow' and she can't hide the smirk on her face when she turns to see her best friend's gaze following a very specific figure skater. She's sure that even the word 'smitten' would be a definite understatement.

"Hey Case, who ya starin' at?" the Texan teases enjoying the heavy blush that appears on the other woman's face.

"No one.." the redhead responds quickly, ripping her eyes away from the ice only to blush even harder when she sees Abbie gazing at her with that stupid shit eating grin of hers. "I'm not staring at anyone. I just think it' cool that they do all that dancing on those two itty bitty blades."

"Yeah right, and I'm the Queen of England. You like Serena's friend."

"I don't like her. Well I mean I do like her she seems kinda nice but it's not like…well…I don't…_like_ her like her…like that."

"You sound like a twelve year old, Novak."

"Shut up."

* * *

Alex swallows thickly as she skates out onto the ice, but this time she's alone. When she found out that she was going to be going second to last, she was more than thrilled, but unfortunately for her, all of the competitors ahead of her seemed to pass by in an instant flash. Now that she's here, she honestly wishes that she had the luxury of going first just so she can get it over with.

She takes three calming deep breaths as she positions her self in the center of the rink, eyes closed, partially from anticipation, and partially from nerves. As her routine music filters through the speakers of the arena, she comes to life like a blossoming flower being awoken from its winter hibernation.

Her skates cut across the ice with expert like precision as she takes another calming deep breath as she prepares for her opening jump. She launches her self in the air, feeling like she gets excellent rotation on the triple axel before she lands with ease before drawing her leg back to prep for a double. Her land after the double isn't as stable as she would have liked, but she immediately shrugs it off, knowing that sitting on such a mistake would only make things worse in the long run.

She feels like she's flying as she scares the entire length of the rink, performing several serious of jumps, spins as well as precise footwork that has been incorporated into her choreography. On a few occasions she has been a little wobbly on her landings and she knows for a fact that Olympic judges aren't exactly all that forgiving.

As her program comes to across, Alex squeezes her eyes shut as a list of all of her errors floods her mind. She plasters a smile on her face and accepts the ovation from the crowd, skating in a few circles giving the ceremonial closing wave before she skates over to the edge of the rink where she is greeted by her coach and an overly bubbly Serena.

"Alex! That was so amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Serena screeches as she envelopes the taller woman into a tight hug, nearly knocking her off of her feet. "Your routine was absolutely beautiful and flawless. There's no possible way that the judges didn't love it."

"Thanks," Alex manages with a small but nervous smile as she slips her jacket around her shoulders and goes to sit down to await her scores.

As she takes a seat next to her coach, Veronica Nordstrom, Alex can't help but feel like her nerves are beginning to eat her alive. She feels the older woman take her hand in an attempt to calm her, but her nerves only seem to pick up even more. She anxiously bounces her leg up and down, nervously gnawing on her bottom lip as her eyes stay glued to the scoring board. Currently the first place spot belongs to Lena Wong of China with a score of 89.30.

"And now the scores for Alexandra Cabot of the United States of America…" The female voice filters over the speakers before there is a dramatic never ending pause that nearly causes Alex to shout 'get on with it damnit!' Even the crowd is starting to become a little more than antsy at the excessive amount of waiting.

"93.20."

Alex closes her eyes and lets out a breath she hadn't even known that she had been holding when she realizes that her score puts her in first place. She accepts yet another one of Serena's bone crushing hugs as her heart begins pounding in her ears once again. She is now in the Olympic medal pursuit, but whether it will be silver or gold, it all comes down to this one last performance.

"Is it bad that the dark side of me is hoping that she falls." Alex mutters jokingly as they make the transition and Kim skates out onto the ice having to go last because she ranked first in qualifying.

"Psh, what are the odds of that happening." Serena responds, shrinking when she realizes the look that she gets in response. "Sorry. I mean…uh, yeah, me too."

Out of the corner of her eye, Alex can see that same woman she saw yelling at Kim not too long ago, gripping the edge of the railing tightly as she watches with a hardened expression on her face. Alex is sure that if it weren't already so cold in the arena, this woman would definitely be making it about ten degrees colder.

It's no surprise that before the music even begins that the world champion has come more than prepared and as the presiding gold medalist for both the ladies short program and free skate, she came to defend her territory.

"It's like she's a goddess of the ice." Serena whispers quietly as she has quickly gotten over the small sting of being in fourth place, missing the podium by just a small margin. "Look at how she moves…"

"Will you shut up…" Alex all but hisses as she continues to watch the flawless performance. If there was any figure skating performance that she would deem to be absolutely perfect, this is it.

Towards the climax of the routine, both blondes watch as the twenty year old skater prepares what appears to be a toe loop jump. What they expect to be at least a triple comes out as a quad before resulting to a no hand half summersault and settling into a series of spins.

"Holy, shit, did you see that!" Serena screeches as the crowd practically goes insane at the conclusion of the routine. "She did a quad Alex! A freaking quad! That has never been recorded to have done by a woman in competition before! She just made history and we were here to see it! Holy cow, a quad!"

"Yeah, a quad…" Alex mutters quietly, crossing her arms as her heart practically leaps into her throat. She barely manages to offer Kim a small smile as she makes her way off of the ice and heads over to sit and wait for her scores. Of course the inevitable as happened, but Alex wishes that fate will be on her side for once.

"And now for the scores of Kimberly Greylek of the United States of America…" that same female voice announces before there is that same damned long pause, though this one seems to be a lot shorter than the last. "97.45."

Alex heart sinks to the depths of her stomach and everything after that has become a blur. She barely hears Serena rambling on about being a silver medalist but at the moment she doesn't really care. All she knows is that she didn't come this far to settle for second best.

**Later **

"Hey, congratulations on your medal." Casey says cheerfully as she runs into Alex after the figure skating medal ceremony. Her bright smile only fades when she sees the blonde's fallen face and disappointed expression. "Hey, why the long face?"

Alex shrugs nonchalantly, not really wanting to voice to reason for her anguish as she feels like a petty, pitiful child. "It's not that big a deal. Thank you, by the way. I saw you in the audience, but I never got a chance to catch up with you after the final results were given."

Casey's grin returns as she nods her head in excitement. "It was really exciting to watch. I mean, yeah I don't exactly understand the basics of figure skating, but it was really cool seeing you guys do all those spins and stuff." She says animatedly before she notices how quiet the other woman has fallen. "Hey listen, I can…leave you alone if you don't wanna talk to me. I mean…it wasn't really cool of me to assume we were friends or anything. I can go…if you want."

"No, no, it's not that, it's just…well…I'm a little disappointed." Alex admits with a sigh as she hangs her head. "I've worked so hard to get where I am right now, especially under some of the most difficult circumstances, and I'm just disappointed and angry with my self that I wasn't able to do better."

"Alex, you're a silver medalist for you first time at the Olympics. I would have to say that that's pretty great."

"Yeah well, the person I lost to had her first time at the Olympics when she was sixteen and even then she won two gold medals on her first try."

Casey bites down on her lower lip for a moment before she gently grabs hold of the blonde's wrist. "We still have a little time on our hands. C'mon."

"Where are you taking me?" Alex asks curiously as she is led down the hall to what she assumes to be Casey's room. "You're not about to try to rape me are you?"

"Of course not!" Casey squeaks, her face flushing the color of her hair as she digs out her key. "Just wait."

Alex huffs and folds her arms, leading against the wall as she hears rustling inside of the room. She raises her eyebrows in curiosity when Casey returns with a snowboard, a pair off boots, goggles, and a helmet along with a few other safety measures.

"What the hell are you gonna do with those?" Alex asks curiously, not liking the look spreading across the redhead's face.

"It'll be fun. Trust me."

**Wonder what Casey has in mind. Leave your thoughts? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Chapter came out much longer and later than I expected. Hope you all enjoy. **

"Casey, this is terrifying! Why are you making me do this?!"

"I'm not making you do anything. I just thought it would be fun."

"Well it's not. It's unsafe, terrifying…"

"Alex…"

"…completely dangerous, I'm sure I look like a fool…"

"Alex…"

"Not to mention the fact that it is exceptionally cold out here and I have never once done this before in my life…"

"Alex!"

"What?"

"You aren't even moving."

Alex snaps her mouth shut and folds her arms tightly across her chest which in turn nearly causes her to tip over. She juts out her lower lip as she looks down at her boot covered feet that are bound to the snowboard. Why she has let this rather persistent redhead talk her into doing this, she will never know.

"This is pointless." Alex huffs with a shake of her head. "I should really be thinking about my next competition. Not out here with you allowing you to murder me with your board thing."

Casey can't help but roll her eyes at the statement, though a rather amused smile crosses her lips. To say that she is just amused by the blonde's complaints would be a complete understatement. In fact, she actually finds them to be a little cute.

"I'm not trying to murder you. I'm just trying to get you to relax a little bit, that's all." Casey concludes with an optimistic grin. "Snowboarding really isn't all that hard once you really get the hang of it."

Alex snorts ruefully before she rolls her eyes. "You say that as if I'm actually about to try this." she mutters, crossing her arms in a defiant manner once again.

"Oh you are. You're either gonna slide down that slope or I'm going to climb up there and push you don't. Your choice."

"You wouldn't."

"Bet."

Alex screws up her features before she exhales in an overly exaggerated manner. "Fine." She relents after a moment of an intense stare off. "How do I do this…"

Casey beams brightly as she climbs the tiny slope and stands next to the stiff blonde which in turn causes her to laugh out loud. "Well for starters, you're going to have to relax. Be loose, or like I said before, you'll end up falling. Just relax and slightly bend your knees."

"Like this?"

"Yeah like that. See? I told you it's not hard."

"Yeah, that's because you haven't tried to push me off a cliff yet." Alex snorts before shaking her head. "Well, at least you can say that I got the leg bending part right. What's next?"

Thankfully, Casey is able to hide her blush and she shakes her head vigorously, shaking away any and all thoughts of the blonde's legs. "Next? Oh, uh next is handling the slope. When going down you're gonna wanna balance your weight on the board. You don't wanna put to much weight on the front because you'll fall and the same with the back. You'll end up tipping over either way. Just kinda find away to center your weight; you can use your hands as aids if you need to."

Alex nods in comprehension before she tilts her head to the side. "Great. That about it?"

"For this particular thing yeah." Casey answers with a tiny shrug. "Center your weight, don't fall, try not to flail your arms like your falling. With all of that you should be good to go. Do you think you're ready to try?"

"Would you let me get away with saying no?"

"Nope, probably not."

"Didn't think so." Alex responds with a tiny sigh as she looks down the tiny snow mound. Sure it is probably one of the tiniest mounds of snow they could find, but what might be considered a piece of cake to Casey, Alex finds her self internally freaking out.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"Okay then…here I go."

Casey watches with anticipation and curiosity as the blonde slowly inches her way towards the edge of the slope. For a split second she sees that she's doing good until Alex comes to the edge of the slope and spontaneously ends up falling forward before she can do anything else. As much as she tries to contain it, Casey can't help the laugh that escapes from her lips.

Alex lands amidst the snow with a tiny thud, before she scowls deeply and immediately spits the frozen water from her mouth. She wipes at her face and turns over, making it a point to glare holes into the woman standing above her. "You promised that you weren't going to laugh at me."

"I'm sorry, I…" Casey has to pause to catch her breath and keep from laughing once more. "I'm sorry Alex. I just couldn't helped it. You looked like a baby trying to take her first steps. If you saw yourself, you would actually understand how funny it was."

"Yeah, well, laugh it up." Alex mumbles as she tinkers with the bindings of the board until she gets her feet free. "You can have your snowboard. I'm no longer going to be it's victim."

"Aw, c'mon Alex, it wasn't that bad. You were really cute."

"Cute?"

A heavy blush appears at Casey's cheeks once again before she ducks her head and kicks at the snow. "Well, I mean…you know…it was…funny." She trails off, realizing that she got caught. She isn't going to lie and say that she isn't attracted to the figure skater, but she feels like if she lets that attraction show so soon, she could end up ruining the potential, of a friendship.

Alex giggles quietly as she stands to her feet and dusts the snow off of her self. She didn't miss the look of embarrassment that streaked across Casey's face, but she doesn't want to call her on it for fear of only embarrassing her more.

"Maybe we can try again sometime." She says as she shoves her cold hands into her pockets. "Next I get to get you out on the ice and show you about ice skating."

"Er, no thanks. I'm not really all that good at skating."

"And I stink at snowboarding, so it works out perfectly."

The two share a laugh before their laughter dies down into soft giggles and Casey shoves her hands into her back pockets. "So um…do you maybe want to grab a coffee or hot chocolate? I'm sure that Abbie and Serena are busying themselves just fine with one another at the moment so they wouldn't want either of us bothering them."

Alex rolls her eyes before she nods her head and groans. "As much as I would like to disagree, I'd have to say that your probably right. Sometimes I feel that Serena is probably a little too outgoing. She spent all last night and this morning babbling about how great of a kisser Abbie is. Then she went on for hours about how her accent is, and I quote, 'the sexiest thing in the world'." Alex concludes with a pretend snooty falsetto voice.

"Yeah. So…about that coffee?" Casey asks again with a hopeful tilt of her head.

"I'd love to." Alex manages, feeling a sense of warmth wash over her as she realizes that she hasn't thought about her medal ranking in the better part of an hour. "Hey, your snowboarding final is tomorrow right?"

"Yeah. I'm competing in three of the four disciplines. The final for slopestyle is tomorrow. Why?"

"I was thinking that maybe I'd come?"

"Yeah, I'd like that. I mean…yeah, that'll be cool. And then maybe we can hang out after?"

"If I'm not practicing, yes, we can. So now, coffee?"

"Lead the way."

* * *

Casey takes a rather shaky deep breath as she retightens the straps of her board bindings. She swallows the nervous lump in her throat as she shields her eyes from the sun and glazes over the slopestyle track that she has become rather familiar with within the past two days. This is it. Her final run.

"Don't mess up, Slow-vak." Olivia's voice rings tauntingly in her ears, causing her to snort with disgust. The insult only pumped up her adrenaline even more and she is ready to set fire to this track.

Giving her coach and trainer an encouraging fist bump, she settles comfortably on her board before she drops into the track. Her heart practically pounds in her ears as she slides down the first hump of snow, landing a perfect backwards blunt slide on the first railing. She slides along the second railing easily, doing a switch front slide one eighty that switches her stance.

The charismatic redhead launches off of the first rap with amazing speed, doing a switch 720 Mctwist before landing perfectly on the snow below. She quickly switches her stance once again before doing an inverted 900 tailgrab, sticking the landing with a graceful ease that she didn't even know she had.

As she comes to the very last kicker, she takes a deep breath and forces every muscle in her body to relax. A small smile spreads across her face when she allows her mind to wonder to the beautiful blonde that has attended her competition. In honesty, she wasn't sure if Alex would actually make it or not, but she felt a sense of relief wash over her when she made it to the end of her first run when she saw the figure skater standing behind the front barricade. The two shared a quick smile and glance before Casey had to head off and prepare for her second go at the course.

Now here she is coming on up her last kicker where she launches into the air with amazing height, doing a corkscrew 1080 that she had only landed once during practice. At first she wasn't sure about doing this particular trick, but she at least wants to make the podium, so she made the last split second decision to go for it.

Her landing is just a tad bit wobbly but she manages to stay on her feet as the screams from the crowd let her know that it was a good run. She is once again greeted by a Texas sized bear hug from her best friend as she is unable to stop the tears of happiness and anticipation from running down her face.

"Oh my god Abbs, I've never been more pumped than right now." Casey nearly sobs as she gives the lanky brunette a tight squeeze.

Currently Abbie is leading the pack with a comfortable score; much to a certain Canadian's utter disgust. Unashamedly, Abbie is far too excited to actually have the chance to medal at the Olympics for her first time. Hell, they could give her an old copper penny as a pin on medal and she would gladly take it with the utmost ecstatic amount of gratitude.

Casey's tears come in full swing when she receives her score and she realizes that it's won her the gold medal. She once again finds her self crushed into another hug before she is picked up and swung around once again. Out of the corner of her eye she catches Olivia throw down her cloves in anger before kicking her board a good ten feet away. Nothing gives her more satisfaction than winning a gold medal and seeing the notorious Olivia Benson take bronze.

Casey then finds her self released from the hug and she spins around, not surprised in the slightest to find Abbie locking lips with her new found blonde companion. Rolling her eyes, she squeezes past the couple before making her way over to Alex who is wearing a wide smile.

"Congrats." Alex says with a smile, giggling at the redhead's enthusiasm.

"Thanks. I'm uh, I'm real surprised you came and stayed the entire time. That was really cool of you." Casey then trails off, trying to force her self not to lose her self in the blonde's eyes but fails miserably.

Alex can practically see the enthusiasm radiating off of the snowboarder in vibrant waves. "Here, you might wanna take this." she says with a grin as she offers Casey the American flag. "Go take your victory lap, Champ."

Casey smiles and gives the blonde a quick hug before she takes the flag and raises it high above her head, waving it patriotically. Even as a kid watching the television, she's seen all of the athletes showing respect for their country after their victory. And never once did she think she would be standing right there with them.

**Later That Evening **

"You're not with Abbie right now?" Alex asks with mock shock as she and Serena absentmindedly wander into the ice rink. "Surely I thought you two would be having victory sex right about now."

Serena gasps in offense before she places her hand over her heart. "Why Alexandra, I am appalled that you would think such things of me." she gasps before turning up her nose. "I would not sleep with her so soon. Next week maybe, but most definitely not after only a few days. That's ridiculous."

"Well excuse me." Alex chuckles with a shake of her head. "It was really cool seeing the US take gold and silver in women's snowboarding. That puts us right up there for the lead in the medal count. Isn't that exciting?"

"It is! What's even more exciting is how overly smitten you have become with a certain crimson haired snowboarder." Serena teases with a knowing smirk. "You have a crush."

"You're being ridiculous, I do not have a crush."

"You totally do. I see the way that school girl smile crosses your lips whenever she talks to you, or how you blushed like a complete fool when congratulated you on your medal. You like her."

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she shoves her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "I don't know her well enough to like her. Unlike you, I am not the 'hit it and quit it' type. I'm not looking for a fling Serena, especially not here." For a moment, Alex wonders if she should tell Serena about her and Casey's impromptu snowboarding lessons, but at the last minute, she decides to save it for another time.

Serena groans and tilts her head back before shaking it in disapproval. "You are such an uptight spaz. I really need to work on you." she whines before she pauses with Alex as they hear the familiar telltale scrapes of skates against the ice.

Alex's eyes widen and she pulls Serena in closely, putting her finger to her lips as if telling her to keep quiet. Seeing the look of confusion on her best friend's face, she then points her finger towards the scary woman has seen several times before. Thankfully, the woman's back is to them while they have full view of the skating rink and the young brunette skating in rhythmic circles.

"Again." the woman says in a clipped manner, the agitation clear and evident in her tone voice. "Do it again."

"I'm tired." Kim states quietly as she continues to skate in circles, having just completed rehearsing an entire routine.

"I don't care. Do it again. I told you. You're going to do it until I see fit, and I say you stop when I say it's perfect."

"I'm trying. Honest I am. I'm just tired. Please, just maybe a ten minute break?"

"Breaks haven't gotten you gold medals Kimberly." The woman says firmly, her anger only seeming to increase by the millisecond. "Gold medals come from hard work and determination. Achievements and world records come from intense practices and strongly willed minds. As of right now, you have none of those things and it is my job to make sure that you do. Good world champions defend their titles."

Kim squeezes her eyes shut as she slows to a stop before she drags both hands through her hair. "Mom, I'm tired. We can pick this up some other time. Please."

Claire Greylek's eyes harden coldly and if she had the ability to turn people to stone with her glares, half the planet would be finely sculpted statues. "Don't you dare argue with me Kimberly. Do it again."

"But Mom, I-"

"AGAIN. I will have no more of this pointless going back and forth. Do it again."

Kim exhales quietly through her mouth before she nods her head and gets back into the starting position of her routine. She takes a deep breath before she starts once again, getting into the choreography as she listens to her mother's comments about her techniques.

"Your Axels are sloppy. Your jumps are terrible. Your landings need work. Nothing less than perfection because that's what the judges want; perfection." The list is just endless.

Not even midway through her routine, Kim's legs can't take it any longer and she finds her self tumbling down onto the ice as she comes down from a triple Lutz jump. The twenty year old skater rolls over onto her back and digs her palms into her eye sockets as her body takes heavy and harsh deep breaths.

Over off of the ice floor, she hears her mother utter something along the lines of 'worthless' before her body involuntarily becomes racked with heavy sobs, her exhaustion finally beginning to take it's toll.

"Get up." the older raven haired woman barks as she shakes her head in sheer disgust. "Do you realize how pitiful you look lying down there like that? Like a whiny child? Get up."

After hearing the instruction shouted at her several times, Kim finally manages to pick her self up off of the ice and stand on wobbly legs. She takes a moment to steady her self before reaching up to wipe away the wears that have made their presence known at her cheeks.

"Do it again and this time, do not cry about your failures." Claire snaps venomously, "Again."

The two eavesdropping blondes watch in sheer horror as the young athlete begins pushing her self to perfect her earlier routine. They glance at each other and share brief looks of worry, pity, and anything else in between.

"Everyone's story really _is_ different behind the scenes." Alex whispers with a sad shake of her head.

Serena nods with a similar expression written all over her face. "I know." she agrees with a small pause before continuing on. "We've gotta do something…"

"I know…I know. But what _can_ we do?"

**That's a little intense, ain't it? Leave your thoughts? **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, I'm not sure why it's taken me this long to upload this since it's been on my computer for almost a week now. I guess it just kinda slipped my mind :-P sorry guys! Enjoy! **

"There is no way in hell that I am getting out there." Casey says bluntly as her legs wobbly on the two thin little ice blades. She hasn't even made it out onto the ice and she can barely stand up so she knows damn well that her getting on the ice would just be a disaster waiting to happen.

Alex grins widely as she skates perfect figure eights. "Come on, Casey, it's not that bad." She responds with a small giggle. "It's really not as hard as it looks. Much simpler than that deadly thing call snowboarding."

Casey juts out her lower lip and folds her arms, which almost causes her to lose her balance. "It's not deadly. It's super easy. Much easier than this!" she nearly shouts, huffing as she contemplates whether she wants to risk going out on the frozen floor or not.

Shaking her head, Alex skates over to the edge of the ice and offers her hand in assistance to the pouting redhead. "Here. If it will make you feel better, I'll help you." she offers, snickering when Casey stands up straighter as if she is silently declining the offer of assistance. "Alright hotshot, then let's see what you got."

"Stupid skates…" Casey grumbles as hesitantly sticks one skate clad foot out onto the icy floor. She waits for a moment before she deems it safe to have other foot join her. As soon as she puts her right foot out on the ice, she slips and with a rather high pitched yelp, she skids down onto the cold floor. Heat rushes to her face as she hears Alex giggling quietly above her.

"Are you okay?" Alex asks curiously as she bends over to assist her new friend. Her laughs only come harder when Casey shrugs her hands off and attempts to stand to her feet again, all the while mumbling to her self about stupid skates.

After several failed attempts, Casey manages to get to her feet as she clutches onto the side barriers as if her life depends on it. "So are you laughing at me for laughing at you when you fell on me snowboard?" she asks with a smirk, catching her self as she nearly falls again. "Don't say a word."

Alex holds up her hands as she skates back over to Casey, forcefully intertwining their fingers. "C'mon, you're gonna skate if I have to drag you on your but. It's really not that hard once you get used to balancing yourself." She begins before she begins to demonstrate, "See? You just have to step, step, then glide. Step, step, glide. Just do that sequence over and over again and then the next thing you know, you're skating."

"Step, step, glide. Step, step, glide…" Casey repeats over and over again as she keeps a tight knit hold on Alex's had while she repeats the skating sequence. After a moment, she begins to feel a little comfortable and she lets go of Alex's hand, continue to shakily, but steadily glide across the ice.

"Hey Alex! Look at me! I'm doing it!" the rather excited snowboarder calls out. Unfortunately she speaks far too soon and she slips once again, tumbling down onto the ice with a small thud. "…ow…"

Alex bursts into a hysteric fit of giggles as she skates over to the fallen redhead, taking note of how she is just sprawled out across the ice. "Some trick you did there. I'll have to take note of that for my next routine."

Casey huffs and rolls her eyes as she finally manages to sit up. "Shut up." she grumbles as she attempts to stand but ends up slipping and landing on her butt. "Help me up will you?"

"Sure." The blonde replies as she extends her hand. She is sure that everything is going to be fine once she gets Casey standing once again, but she miscalculates Casey's clumsiness and she ends up slipping once again.

In an effort to keep from falling once again, Casey grasps on to the nearest thing to keep her upright. Unfortunately, that nearest thing is Alex and she ends up pulling the blonde down onto the ice with her.

The two fall to the ice with a unison 'oof' as Casey lands on her back once again while Alex ends up landing on top of her. Like a cheesy old time movie, the two stare into each other's eyes as if all of the world around them has completely vanished. They find themselves being drawn together as if by a gravitational pull before Alex snaps back to reality and halts any further motions.

"Um, we should…probably get up so we won't be all…wet." The blonde stammers awkwardly as she clambers back to her feet. She extends both hands this time and manages to pull Casey up to her feet without managing to repeat the events of just a few minutes prior. "That's enough skating lessons for today, yeah?"

"Y-yeah, uh, yeah, I guess." Casey replies just as awkwardly as she begins to turn fire engine red as her mind slowly begins to realize that just happened, or more importantly, what almost happened. "Maybe I'll just do what I'm good at and sit off on the bench over there and watch you practice."  
A sheepish smile spreads across Alex's face as she watches the snowboarder struggle to make her way back over to the edge of the rink to get back on solid, dry ground. She can't help but giggle when she sees Casey slip a good three of four times before she finally manages to make her way to the edge, heaving an audible sigh of relief as she begins to remove the ice skates.

Shaking her head, Alex begins to blush herself as she too begins to realize what almost happened. "Holy crap…" she mutters quietly to herself before she shakes the fuzziness from her head and then proceeds to practice her routine for her next competition. All though out her practices she can feel a familiar set of emerald eyes following her which aids to give her a new found amount of confidence, but also an equal amount of nerves.

* * *

"I almost kissed her. I can't believe that I almost kissed her. I mean, the moment felt right and everything but that still doesn't mean that I should have kissed her, right? Or should I have kissed her? No, of course I shouldn't have kissed her, that would've been messed up and then things would have gotten weirder than they already are. But is it bad that I really wanted to kiss her? I mean, yeah we haven't really known each other for all that long and we probably won't ever see each other again after the games are over, but I still can't help the fact that I'm attracted to her. I mean look at her. She's athletic, blonde, she has the gorgeous blue eyes that I could get lost in all day, she has a beautiful smile and the most melodic laugh, not to mention she's single. I mean come on, how many women like that do you find nowadays that are actually single? It's like damn near impossible. Anyway, back to the root source of my problem here, we almost kissed and I really wanted to kiss her but I'm not sure if she wanted to kiss me and now I'm worried that everything is going to be all messed up. You know I'm not the best when it comes to these things. Can you just listen to me and help me out for five seconds?"

An agitated sigh is heard and Abbie pokes her head out from underneath the comforter of her bed. She practically holds the blanket up to her chin as she scowls deeply at her best friend that has been rambling and pacing the length of her room for approximately the past five minutes; not to mention the inconvenience of the redhead walking in unannounced.

"Now is really not a good time." The brunette mutters darkly as she keeps the duvet blanket drawn up over the upper half of her body as she continues to glare hard at her best friend.

"What do you mean now is really not a good time!?" Casey exclaims as she throws her hands up in the air. "You're my best friend! You're supposed to help me out with this kind of stuff!"

"She's right you know." A new voice chimes in and seconds later, Serena pokes her head out from under the blankets as well. She giggles quietly at the look plastered across the distressed woman's face before she gives an innocent wave. "Hi Casey."

Managing to pick her jaw up off the floor, Casey manages to wave back as she is thankful that the room is dark enough to where neither women in the bed are able to see the blush rapidly spreading across her cheeks. "Uh, h-hey."

Abbie sighs agitatedly once more before she retrieves her t-shirt from the floor and ducks under the blankets, briefly enough to slip it over her head before she returns and rests her arms behind her head, leaning against the headboard. "Well, now that you have succeeded in successfully ruining my evening with your girl problems…"

"They are not girl problems!" Casey exclaims, shamefully stomping her foot on the floor like a small child before she crosses her arms. "They aren't girl problems…"

"Then what are they?"

"She just…she makes me nervous. Being around her I get all jittery and clumsy and I stammer and I feel like I'm making a complete idiot of myself and then I really end up making a complete idiot of myself. Whenever I see her, I feel like a little kid again because I have butterflies in my stomach."

Serena giggles once more as she is the first one to speak up this time. "Seems to me like you have a crush on my best friend," she states before laughing again. "That's alright, you know, the fact that you like her. I think it's really cute and I'm sure she'd be flattered. Who knows, maybe she even likes you too."

"Yeah, doubt that." the redhead mumbles as she begins to pace the room again. "I just don't know what I should do."

"Tell her how you feel." Abbie states nonchalantly as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Tell her how I feel!? Are you nuts?! Well, you are nuts, but still…"

"Yeah, I mean think of it this way. You tell her how you feel, she rejects you, when the games are over, you'll never have to see her again. She accepts you, and then you have a chance at starting something. It's a win –win situation my friend. That way, you don't have to worry about making an idiot of yourself…for too long."

Casey sighs heavily before she shakes her head and roughly drags her fingers through her hair. "That's easy for you to say Abbie. I'm not you. I can't just…do that. It's different for me. Even if she doesn't like me, I don't want her to think that I'm weird for liking her. And even after that, I'll still feel like an idiot because I know she doesn't like me."

"You know, I can always ask." Serena pipes in once more with a nonchalant shrug. "Granted, Alex can be a little…sensitive when it comes to these things but I guess that it wouldn't really hurt to give it a shot. I'd be more than happy to help you out."

"If I do this, I don't wanna do it that way…" Casey mutters, more to herself than to the other two women occupying the room. "I just wish that I was better at this. That way I wouldn't have to worry about embarrassing myself. I already seemed to do that enough when she tried to teach me to skate."

Abbie's eyes practically bug out of her head right before she bursts into a fit of hysteric laughter. "No fucking way. She got YOU on a pair of skates?! Oh man! I would've definitely paid big money to see you bust your ass on that ice."

"It's not as easy as it looks you know." Serena replies in a teasing tone as a smirk tugs at her lips. "I'll be more than happy to get you out on the ice during one of my practice runs."

"No thanks, the snow and the board are what make me, Babe." Abbie replies with a smirk of her own before placing a gentle kiss to the blonde's lips, causing her to giggle.

Casey rolls her eyes and shakes her head with the slightest hinge of disapproval. Abbie is probably one of the only people she knows that can meet a woman and fall into bed with her only days later and there be absolutely nothing wrong with it. She isn't sure if the brunette has a gift, or a curse. Either way it's one of the two and it's most definitely not helping with her current situation.

**Hehehe, leave your thoughts? **


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